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Yes, you read that right. There were 1.25 billion global information workers in 2018 — people that use a smartphone, PC, or tablet for work an hour more per day in a typical week. This number may seem astronomical . . . but in reality, the growth of information workers has just begun. New devices and innovations have flooded the market, making digital devices even more useful for work, so companies will be able to expand digital assistance to more tasks and more types of workers, far beyond white-collar office workers. The result is gains in productivity, efficiency, and business outcomes.
Back in 2012, we released our original information worker sizing report and found the total info worker population to be 478 million, growing to 865 million by 2016. In our latest analysis, we found that the global information worker population grew to 1.25 billion in 2018. We also found that:
- Uber drivers and cashiers have become information workers. Surprising? Think about the technology that every worker has in the palm of their hands. Information worker no longer means just office workers. Instead, it now also captures a whole new segment of gig-economy workers, as well as administrative and frontline workers.
- Emerging and pervasive technologies will continue to expand the info worker population. What began with a PC and smartphone has now expanded to a new set of technologies that have dramatically changed the way people work. AR/VR headsets have proliferated through training and development job functions, while wearables have enabled a new meaning of an on-the-go workforce. As technology continues to expand, so too will the information worker population.


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WorkWave, a Holmdel-based Software-as-a-Service solutions provider, on Friday said it launched WorkWave Financial Services, a collection of financial offerings that will range from credit cards to lending, to tailored insurance and more — all designed specifically to help WorkWave customers grow their business and maximize their money.
“WorkWave Financial Services allows us to use our position as an industry leader, combined with the significant investment we have made to build out our payments and financial capabilities, to give back to our customers in ways that no other technology partners are capable of,” said David Giannetto, CEO of WorkWave. “As their trusted partner, our customers look to us to support every area of their business with integrated solutions that work hand in hand to increase their efficiency, not just in service, but as they grow and utilize their money. Our financial services offerings will provide greater access to capital, more efficient rates for loans and credit and favorable insurance programs that are critical to growing their business.”
The newest offering under WorkWave Financial Services is the Business Builder Visa credit card, specifically created to help small businesses build a strong credit rating in their company’s name. The Business Builder Visa is backed by a portion of daily settlement sales, providing business owners more control over spending. Business Builder cardholders will benefit by avoiding excessive interest rates, late charges and personal financial exposure associated with high-fee credit cards and loans by leveraging the capital they are already creating through daily sales.
“Most card issuers are averse to underwriting risk for small businesses, but, as their strategic partner, we believe in our customers’ success and it’s our responsibility to support them and help them grow,” Giannetto said. “The Business Builder Visa addresses a real, sustainable solution to support their need to lay a strong foundation from which these companies can scale, and build a company they are proud of for generations to come.”

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Consumers are now forking out more to pay for imported goods as Airfreight and Seafreight costs have increased.
One of the main importer-exporter agency in Niue confirms Air New Zealand charges have increased by $2.50 kg from April 12th this year and rates to Niue is currently $10.50 kg from the previous $8.00 kg.
If the actual total freight weight is less than the forward booking weight total, Air NZ charge will be at the booking weight. The importer agency says it is always best to have more than less to avoid being charge for unused weight.
Matson sea freight general rates increased by 2% and 6.06% Bunker Adjustment Factor (BAF) from January 2020.
The BAF is related to new International Maritime Organization regulations which required vessels to use Low Sulphur fuel from January.
The downside in all the increases is the impact to consumers, businesses cannot absorb the increased charges in the current environment and therefore consumers become the final payer.
Swanson Manager Amanda Pita confirmed there have been increase in prices for the supermarket items.
“Some of these items the last price change was 2016..the Covid-19 has affected supply chains from NZ also.. Most products sold in the supermarket are supplied directly from the factory like Fonterra, Gilmour for e.g. So if the main supplier cannot supply we look for an alternative supplier like countdown or Gilmour’s to supply something we could order directly from the supplier, so that means we pay extra and this extra $1 or $2 will make a lot of difference once the product lands here.” Said Pita
Another retailer at the Commercial center says their priority is their supply to restaurants but they also cater for their needs specifically and are mindful of loyal customers.
“We have in fact have had to order airfreight goods for the restaurants more than usual this year. I think the increase in airfreight is due to COVID19 as previously there was a standard cost. Now if you bring in less than 100kgs it is more expensive but if you order over 100kgs n more it is expected to decrease.
Frozen airfreight is about $5kg.from $3.69kg and fresh produce just under $5. You also have to consider the costs of documentation, MAF fees, cartage as well. It all adds up when it gets here.
Our fresh produce goes fast due to the small number of our order. Right now, we are just ordering enough to tide us through we do not want to be caught out. If customers are buying but complaining they need to shop around. “


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Mr. C's car wash in downtown Detroit has a problem. When employees put a car equipped with a door keypad on the conveyor, the brushes are registered as button presses. After a few invalid codes, the doors lock up, and a driverless car is rolling out of the wash. Yes, the law of unintended consequences is alive and well.
This comically overwrought report by Fox News in Detroit shows video footage of a Ford Focus rolling off the wash line as employees scatter to stop it before it crashes. And according to Mr. C's general manager, Rodney Watts, it's something they've encountered six times so far this year.
"When the car goes through the wash, between the cloth, the high pressure vents, the dryer sets off the keyless entry," says Watts.
Other washes in Detroit have reported similar issues, and Mr. C's sent a letter to Autoweek to draw attention to the issue. Apparently Dutch has gotten back to them.
Fox got a statement from Ford, which said, "If the wrong code is entered seven times, the keypad goes into an anti-scan mode disabling it for one minute." GM and Chrysler haven't responded so far.
Considering most automakers that offer external keypads have moved to capacitive buttons, it's curious why we haven't heard about this more. Then again, many car washes have a human in the car to begin with.


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A ton of Android news has already come out of Google I/O, but this time Google TV is thrown into the mix. GTV is set to see an OS update to Android 3.1 (Honeycomb) which means two things: developers will be able to create apps that will run on Honeycomb tablets and Google TV using the same SDK, and the Android Market will finally be a part of Google TV. Unfortunately, Google TV will not receive the Market update before the Honeycomb update, as they will both be released as one, OTA update.
Well, we all saw it coming. After giving away phones the past two years (HTC Magic G2 in 2009, HTC Nexus One/Motorola Droid and HTC EVO 4G in 2010), Google I/O attendees will be leaving with shiny new Limited-Edition Samsung Galaxy Tabs. Here's our little (big) guy:
The Tab 10.1 will be available to the masses on June 8, but I/O attendees will be receiving it first. The Tab 10.1 of course will be running Honeycomb (and will be getting the upgrade to 3.1 in a few weeks), have a 10.1'' screen, 1Ghz dual-core processor, and sport 32GB of onboard memory.
When Google announced its new Movies service today, some of the details of the service's launch were omitted in the information overload that is I/O. But now that we've had a minute to regain our composure and, you know, investigate, we've got some exciting news about Google Movies: you can start renting and watching right now (note: only the United States is currently supported):
The catch is that you'll only be able to do it from your personal computer (via the Web Market or YouTube in the browser) or on a Motorola XOOM in the Videos app for the moment (we're assuming that means it's limited to Honeycomb Android devices for the time being).
Shortly after Honeycomb dropped, we were told that the next version of Android would bridge the gap between tablets and phones. That bridge was officially announced this morning at Google I/O: Ice Cream Sandwich.
Ice Cream Sandwich will be the newest version of Android, and it's going to bring the goodness of Honeycomb to phones, along with Gingerbread features to tablets. The update is due out in Q4 of this year, and the goal is to unify the Android experience across devices, which is a huge step towards ending fragmentation as we know it.
Conferences like Google I/O give companies a chance to update curious parties will all their major goings-on, but also allows them to flaunt their stats a little bit. Android's success is noted by just about everyone these days, and Google's decided to keep on proving it by providing its latest activation and app figures.
Main statistics being discussed were:
We've had leaked betas of Google's Music 3.0 app for Android for what seems like time eternal now, but Google has finally chosen to make the app public. At least part of it, that is. It sports the same interface as the beta we've all come to know (and love?), but lacks one key feature, mysteriously: a settings menu. That's probably owing to the fact that the previous betas we've seen all contained sync (Google Music) options in the settings menu, and unless you're a beta-invitee (don't worry, none of us have gotten ours yet, either), these options will presumably remain hidden and otherwise inaccessible.
Google just announced during the keynote presentation that Honeycomb is officially being updated to Android 3.1. The update will begin rolling out today for owners of the Verizon Motorola XOOM 3G - no word yet on when the WiFi model and other 3.0-rockin' tablets will receive the update, though.
They mentioned a few key improvements they've made with 3.1, though we're sure they only just scratched the surface. For example, they've improved multitasking to now allow more apps to run simultaneously.
At Google's I/O Keynote Tuesday, it was announced that Android may be worming its way into your house in the near future - not just through your phone, tablet or TV, but through other appliances, as well. Android@Home is a system meant to be used as a conduit between your devices and appliances win your home, like the lighting or music systems.
As it was demonstrated for the keynote audience, the presenters had linked various lights to an application in the tablet, dimming them or turning them off as they performed different actions.
- Activated over 100m Android devices worldwide
- 36 OEMs
- 215 carriers
- 450k developers
- 310 Android devices
- 112 countries
- 100k activations/day in 05/2010
- 200k/day in 08/2010
- 300k/day in 12/2010
- today: 400k/day
- over 200k apps available in Android Market - "quality of these apps is phenomenal"
- Honeycomb being updated to 3.1 starting today
- Android has true multitasking - now allowing more apps to run at a time with a new system that automatically halts/shuts down apps
- Widgets improved - can now be resized
- Whoa - they're
playing(unsuccessfully) attempting to play a game on the XOOM using a 360 controller.
The Internet is buzzing about Google I/O, with many speculating on what major reveals the public can expect. Sources close to the Wall Street Journal, for instance, are insisting that Google's long awaited music service will be announced tomorrow. The service will act similarly to Amazon.com Inc.'s cloud service, which allows users to upload their own music files and stream them to supported devices.
The service's launch would indicate that Google has given up on talking with the four major music companies it has sought to appease before moving forward.


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Following the success of our Amazon Academies in London and Manchester, we’re now teaming up with Scottish Enterprise, Enterprise Nation, and Entrepreneurial Sparkto bring the Amazon Academy to the EICC in Edinburgh on Tuesday 23rd May.
Registration is now open for Scottish SMEs hoping to learn how to boost their revenue and productivity, grow their exports, and maximise on cutting-edge technology like cloud computing and voice services for the benefit of their business.
Scottish SMEs, start-ups and web developers are invited to attend, where they’ll learn how to use the power of the internet and technology to boost their revenue and productivity, and grow their exports.
Workshops will be run on how to boost export sales and go global by selling on Amazon; how to use cloud computing to be lean, fast and agile through Amazon Web Services; how startups can bring innovative new products to market through Amazon Launchpad; and how to reach new customers through Alexa, Amazon’s exciting new cloud-based voice service.
Scottish SMEs show real growth potential. The Q1 results of our SME Growth Tracker which monitors the confidence of businesses across the UK, found that Scottish SMEs are expecting business conditions to improve in the next 12 months, with revenue growth projections of +1.5%, profit growth of +1.0%, and jobs growth of +0.8% in the coming 12 months.
Thousands of local businesses in Scotland are already taking advantage of Amazon’s suite of services to help them reach new global customers, with the country’s SME community helping contribute to total UK exports by UK businesses through Amazon of £1.8bn last year.
A dedicated Amazon Academy for authors will also be held on the same day for aspiring and established Scottish writers.
You can register for the Amazon Academy here.


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Cybersecurity firm Centrify has hit what it calls a ‘major milestone' across the 2016-2017 financial year by achieving US$100 million in sales.
The firm, which provides identity-as-a-service and privileged identity management for hybrid enterprises, says it was able to generate a positive cashflow and achieve a customer retention rate of 95%.
Centrify CEO Tom Kemp says that the company took a customer-invested approach over the last financial year, which has allowed Centrify to focus on long-term growth and customer needs.
“We achieved positive cash flow from operations by focusing very specifically on the leverage attained from existing and incremental investment in all areas of our business, most specifically in R-D, sales and marketing. We will continue to focus on priorities that are in our customers' best interests because they are our most important stakeholders,” he says.
The company also hired Rhonda Shantz as chief marketing officer, who helped to lead the company to its next growth stage.
The company states that it is ‘rethinking' security by providing identity services across on-premise and cloud applications, endpoints and infrastructure. It also controls user and privileged access in the hybrid enterprise.
Earlier this year Centrify said that it's a case of ‘déjà vu' when it comes to data breaches. 81% of breaches are due to poor credential management and hacked passwords, the company said.
"An office worker who follows a set routine by typically logging in from a known device is identified as low risk, allowing immediate access to resources without extra authentication. However, logins from another country, after hours or from an unfamiliar device is flagged as a high risk, so would be blocked or at least required to provide extra authentication factors," the company said in a statement.
As a result, the Centrify platform is the company's flagship product. The company also released its Analytics Service as its machine-learning based product for risk assessment.
“Our strategy is to offer a broader, more effective platform for identity rather than just a point solution that focuses on a limited facet such as single sign-on (SSO) or password vaulting,” Kemp explains.
This year Centrify was also named a Leader in the Forrester Wave Privileged Identity Management, Q3 2016 accolades.
So far Centrify has more than 5000 customers, including many of the US Fortune 50 and 6 telecommunications providers across the world. The company managed to score large customers including Sephora and Louis Vuitton.


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SEOUL, Aug. 29 (Korea Bizwire) – Vitamins and tonics topped the list of best-selling over-the-counter (OTC) drugs in South Korea in the first half of the year, data showed Monday, as people got more health-conscious.
According to the first-half business reports by local drugmakers, the best-selling OTC medication was Aronamin, a vitamin manufactured by Ildong Pharmaceutical Co., in the January-June period with sales of 33.5 billion won (US$29.9 million).
Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co.’s hepatic protector Ursa came next with 30.9 billion won, followed by Dongwha Pharm Co.’s digestive Gas Whalmyungsu-Q and Kwangdong Pharmaceutical Co.’s tranquilizer Cheongshimwon with 18.1 billion won.
Market analysts attributed the strong sales of vitamins and tonics to consumers’ growing awareness of the importance of health.
In the first half, nine OTC drugs registered sales of 10 billion won or more, compared with six medicines during the same period a year earlier. An extremely popular medication that generates annual sales of at least 10 billion won is called “a blockbuster drug” in South Korea.
Jeil Pharmaceutical Co.’s anti-pain, anti-inflammatory plaster Kefentech recorded the largest revenue increase among local OTC drugs in the first half, with sales soaring 65 percent on-year to 9.3 billion won, according to the data.


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The Trump administration had a policy of trying to get federal regulators out of our bathrooms and kitchens, and laundry rooms. One change they made: allowing companies to make, and customers to buy, so-called “short cycle” appliances that cleaned our dishes faster, even if they use slightly more water and power to do so.
But the dishwasher nanny is on the way back to the showroom, and America’s kitchens, thanks to the Biden administration. It’s not just a sop to the pieties of energy efficiency and water conservation. It’s a handout to Big Appliance:
In one regulatory filing, a coalition of environmental groups including the Sierra Club and Earthjustice warned that the legalization of faster dishwashers “threatens to wipe out decades of progress” in energy efficiency.
Trade associations representing appliance manufacturers also came out against the new rule. They argued, paradoxically, that consumers weren’t demanding faster dishwashers, and if they were legal, companies would have to invest a lot of money in making the new machines (presumably because people would be interested in buying them).
“Not only would investments in efficiency innovation be stranded, but also new investments would be required in order to design dishwashers that could fall into the new product class,” wrote the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers in an October 2019 public comment.
Never let it be said that businesses are always against regulation. They are very much in favor of regulation, if it insulates them from competition, and supports their balances sheets.
It applies to computer chips, social media networks, cold rolled steel, and yes, dishwashers.


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KUALA LUMPUR, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's natural rubber exports rose 12.5 percent to 53,328 tonnes in March 2022 from 47,386 tonnes in February, official data showed on Wednesday.
China remained the main destination for natural rubber exports, which accounted for 50.6 percent of total exports, followed by Finland at 5.9 percent, Iran at 4.1 percent, Germany at 3.4 percent and Turkey at 3.2 percent, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement.
According to the DOSM, the export performance was contributed by natural rubber-based products such as gloves, tires, tubes, rubber threads and condoms.
"Gloves were the main exports of rubber-based products with a value of 2.1 billion ringgit (480 million U.S. dollars) in March, an increase of 9.1 percent as compared to 2 billion ringgit in February," it said.
Meanwhile, Malaysia's natural rubber production decreased marginally by 2.7 percent to 28,030 tonnes in March as compared to 28,817 tonnes in February.
The year-on-year comparison also showed that the production of natural rubber fell by 22.3 percent from 36,068 tonnes in March 2021.
Total stocks of natural rubber in March also slipped 4.4 percent to 310,332 tonnes from 324,659 tonnes in February. (1 ringgit equals 0.23 U.S. dollar) ■


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An IDC analyst has tough words for Microsoft on tablets. Fixing Surface Pro is job one.
"Surface Pro today is an interesting product, but it's just not there yet," Tom Mainelli, IDC's research director for tablets, said in a phone interview with CNET.
"The battery life's not there. It's too heavy," he added.
And even Surface Pro's touted high performance is a double-edged sword. "While it performs like a notebook, Surface Pro is always going to be compared to other tablets, and tablets really need to run 8 to 10 … Read more
Microsoft's ownership of Skype has placed it in the crosshairs of a patent lawsuit.
CopyTele, a company that calls itself "specialists in patent monetization and patent assertion," launched its suit today, alleging that some of the technology used in Skype violates patents owned by its subsidiary, Secure Web Conference Corp.
In its complaint, CopyTele is asserting the infringement of two U.S patents -- "Method and apparatus for securing e-mail attachments" and "Portable telecommunication security device," both granted in 2005.
Both patents concern secure Web-based peer-to-peer communications, such as those used by Skype. … Read more
Windows 8 is slowly scratching its way up the OS food chain.
Microsoft's latest version of Windows took home 3.8 percent of all traffic captured by Web tracker Net Applications in April. That proved a small gain from its 3.2 percent share in March.
Starting with a 1.09 percent share in November, Windows 8 sliced out a 1.72 percent share in December. A 2.26 percent share in January helped it sneak past Mac OS X 10.8 to grab fourth place among all desktop operating systems. And February saw another small gain to 2.7 percent.… Read more
Microsoft is seeking beta testers for a refreshed version of the official Facebook app for Windows Phone, which was developed by Microsoft in conjunction with Facebook.
Microsoft officials blogged on April 30 that the company is seeking testers for the refreshed Facebook app for Windows Phone 8. The beta isn't available via the Windows Store (to avoid confusion, according to the Softies). Instead, the beta is available via this link.
The refreshed Facebook app is "undergoing a major redesign," according to the blog post, and will include several "much-requested" features, including support for high-res photos, … Read more
Windows 8 users hoping for a return of the traditional Start button and Start menu in Windows 8.1 may be disappointed.
Rumors have floated recently that Microsoft may revive the familiar Start button in the Windows 8.1 update scheduled for release later this year. A new report today from The Verge claims that "sources familiar with Microsoft's plans" have confirmed the return of the Start button.
But -- and there always seems to be a "but" -- the new Start button apparently will not trigger a traditional Start menu but instead simply bounce … Read more
Microsoft has all but confirmed long-standing rumors that it is working on a 7- or 8-inch Windows-powered tablet.
Outgoing Microsoft CFO Peter Klein said during the company's third-quarter earnings conference call Thursday afternoon that Microsoft was working with partners to produce "a new suite of small touch devices powered by Windows" that would be available "in the coming months." Klein did not indicate that Microsoft itself would be making its own smaller Windows 8 devices, but considering the company's recent foray into the tablet market with its Surface lineup, it's not out of … Read more
Microsoft could already be testing its own brand of smartwatch.
In development for the past year, the device is in the prototype stage, "a reliable source familiar with Microsoft's Xbox plans" revealed to The Verge. The watch reportedly comes with removable bands that attach to its 1.5-inch touch display.
One of the prototypes borrows the magnetic power connector used by Microsoft's Surface tablets. The five-pin connector can send both power and data to the watch. However, The Verge's sources say the final design of the smartphone may jettison such a connector.… Read more
Windows 8.1 could be more user-friendly than its predecessor, at least based on the features revealed in the latest build.
Popping up on file-sharing sites this week, Windows 8.1 Build 9369 includes a new Files app branded with the SkyDrive logo, according to The Verge. The app itself lets you navigate both your local files and those stored on SkyDrive.
Multi-tasking has also been enhanced. When opening a Windows 8 app, users can decide whether to open it full-screen or alongside an existing app.
The addition of an apps button lets users more easily access the apps screen. … Read more
Microsoft has updated its various Bing apps for Windows 8 in a move designed to make them quicker to use and easier to customize.
The News app now lets you manage the different news categories that appear in the app. You can add or remove categories for world news, technology, politics, business, and entertainment, and sort the order in which they appear. You can also add a particular news source or RSS feed to your featured sources and to the Windows Start screen so that you can more quickly access their stories.
The News app's app bar has also … Read more


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Microsoft is releasing updates to its Microsoft 365 productivity suite, in the form of Office 2021 and Office Long Term Servicing Channel (LTSC).
Office 2021 – like the previous Office 2019 release – has been designed for personal and small business users who do not want to subscribe to the company's cloud service, Microsoft 365.
The new LTSC offer is designed to be a long-term, static option for the software used in “a limited set of specific situations”, says Jared Spataro, corporate vice president for Microsoft 365 in a recent blog post. These include “regulated devices that cannot accept feature updates for years at a time, process control devices on the manufacturing floor that are not connected to the internet, and specialty systems that must stay locked in time and require a long-term servicing channel”.
“We expect that most customers who use Office LTSC won’t do it across their entire organisation, but only in specific scenarios,” said Spataro. “The good news is that you can deploy both Office LTSC and the Microsoft 365 version of Office with the same deployment tools.”
New Office LTSC features will include accessibility improvements, capabilities like Dynamic Arrays and XLOOKUP in Excel, dark mode support and performance improvements across Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.


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So if you're familiar with the model and social media influencer that is Blac Chyna, you know that she has quite the enterprising spirit. In short, she knows how to secure a bag.
In addition to monetising her social media presence, Chyna has built up her resume to include hosting parties, developing her own makeup brand — and that one time she had a reality show with her now-ex-fiancé Rob Kardashian.
Well the mother of two announced on her Instagram that she will be in Lagos, Nigeria, later this month to promote her latest business venture...a skin-lightening cream.
The lightening cream is a collaboration with a brand called Whitenicious.
The product, which retails for $250 (£195) for a 100g jar, is described as an "illuminating cream" that provides "radiant protection."
Whitenicious is the creation of Cameroonian pop musician and beauty entrepreneur Dencia, whose viral images showing a noticeable change in her complexion served as the springboard for the brand.
In an interview with Ebony, the brand's creator insisted that her products are purely for "dark spot correction" and hyper-pigmentation and contained none of the major ingredients known to be present in standard skin-bleaching creams.
"This product doesn’t have hydroquinone, it doesn’t have steroids, and it doesn’t have mercury," she said.
The singer has also appeared on Channel 4 to defend her brand and argue for freedom of choice.
Long-term use of bleaching creams designed to make skin lighter has been linked to cancer, as well as kidney damage, blindness, and depression.
And people have accused Chyna of further perpetuating the idea that lighter skin is more desirable and better in a region where the regular use of skin-lightening products is already significantly high.
According to the World Health Organisation, nearly 77% of Nigerian women, the highest percentage in the world, use skin-lightening products regularly. Skin bleaching is also endemic in other parts of the world, such as India, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
A representative for Chyna told TMZ that she has been using the brand for years to help manage hyper-pigmentation and took the deal with the intent of helping other black women who have similar "skin issues."


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Today, nearly half a year after China’s policymakers began lifting the restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus, its economy is showing signs of strong recovery. China’s economy surpassed expectations in the first quarter of the year, as gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.5% compared to the same period last year.
“The speed of the recovery has exceeded even our relatively upbeat expectations,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard, head of China economics research at Capital Economics. “With consumer confidence on the mend and credit growth accelerating, there is still scope for a further pickup in activity over the coming months,” he added.
In stark contrast to China’s resurgent economy, the United States experienced a notable slowdown in its annualized GDP growth during the first quarter. The growth rate dipped to a modest 1.1%, marking a significant decrease from the 2.6% growth observed in the fourth quarter of 2022. This disparity underscores the differing economic trajectories between the two nations, with China seemingly on the cusp of a robust recovery while the US struggles to regain traction.
China’s abandonment of its zero-COVID policy has further cemented its reputation as a global economic leader, prompting analysts to weigh the implications for other countries. These include a potential divergence in terms of economic performance and evidence of China’s growing influence in international markets, particularly as its domestic economic momentum continues to outpace that of the United States’.
Looking ahead, China’s post-pandemic economic resurgence could have a profound impact on the global economy. The world’s second-largest economy is already the largest exporter of goods and services, and its continued resurgence could shape a new global economic order. Chinese businesses are expected to benefit from increased demand for their goods and services, while countries that rely on the import of Chinese goods could see their costs rise.
For the US, the implications of China’s resurgence are particularly salient. A continued outflow of investments from the US to Chinese markets could drive up the cost of imports and lead to higher inflation, according to experts. With the US economy already facing sluggish growth, this could further depress US GDP growth and hamper recovery efforts. At the same time, the growing economic power of China could lead to increased competition and a shift in the geopolitical balance of power.
With a growing consensus in Washington that China poses “the single greatest threat to America’s global standing,” the U.S. may find itself at an increasing disadvantage as China’s economy continues to rebound.
Is Higher Inflation on the Horizon?
The swift reopening of the world’s second-largest economy has led to an uptick in consumer spending, with the Chinese public eager to resume their pre-pandemic lifestyles. While the resurgence of consumer demand has been a boon to the Chinese economy, analysts say it could lead to higher inflation in the US and elsewhere. For the U.S. Federal Reserve, the prospect of higher inflation could pose a challenge, as its already limited room to maneuver tightens further.
Economists forecast that the resurgent demand for commodities in China may drive up prices by as much as 0.65%, which could lead to pass-through effects on global markets. Demand for oil alone is expected to increase by at least 2% but could reach as high as 7.5%, according to estimates from Oxford Economics. “As consumers are allowed out of their apartments, and start becoming more mobile, there’s going to be more gasoline demand and more jet fuel demand,” said Tavis McCourt, institutional equity strategist at Raymond James. As the largest importer of oil, economists expect the surge in demand to push up the cost of oil by as much as $20 per barrel given the already tight supply-demand balance.
Prices for copper, aluminum, and other industrial metals already experienced their sharpest monthly gain in over 10 years in January, with prices expected to continue their upward momentum in the months ahead, according to analysts. Meanwhile, demand for agricultural commodities such as wheat, corn, and soybeans has also been on the rise due to increased consumption in the country. As Chinese consumers resume their spending habits and demand returns to pre-pandemic levels, it “puts the progress [the US has] seen on inflation in a much more tenuous position,” said McCourt.
With the threat of higher inflation looming, the US Federal Reserve may be forced to rethink its current policy stance. Although the Fed has suggested that it may not need to raise interest rates as much as it originally expected, the threat of higher inflation could push the Fed towards a more hawkish stance according to some analysts. Given the self-fulfilling nature of inflation expectations, a perception that the Fed is unwilling to raise interest rates could in turn lead to higher inflation. And with cracks in the foundation of the US economy already beginning to show, higher interest rates could be the final nail in the coffin for an already fragile recovery.
Tensions Mount on the Global Stage Amid China’s Economic Resurgence
The growing economic might of China has become increasingly apparent in recent months, prompting a shift in the geopolitical balance of power. China’s growing influence, both economically and politically, has been met with concern by many countries, particularly the United States.
“China is not an ally or strategic partner,” said Patrick McHenry, R-N.C, in a hearing of the Congress on combating the economic threat from China. “We should reject policies that allow China to ignore debt transparency and multilateral standards with impunity or allow them to exert a malign influence in the international financial institutions,” he added. Inflamed by a long-standing trade war, tensions between the US and China have reached fever pitch in recent months. Although trade between the two countries hit a record high last year, relations remain strained, with both countries taking measures to curb the influence of the other.
Stoking the fire further, May witnessed the convergence of two distinct summits, with the Group of Seven (G7) and the China-Central Asia summits taking place on the same day. The dual summits highlighted the divergent paths taken by the two powerhouses and raised questions about how other countries should respond. G7 leaders adopted a communique expressing concerns about China’s “economic coercion” and “weaponisation of economic vulnerabilities.” At the same time, Chinese President Xi Jinping sought to counter U.S. influence in the region by facilitating stronger economic ties between China and its Central Asian neighbors.
The two summits effectively laid out competing visions for the future of global politics and economics. But with China’s economy on the rebound, it looks poised to become an even more formidable force on the world stage. As China continues to strengthen its economic influence, there is a growing consensus in the international community that the world is entering a new era of geopolitics, one characterized by fierce competition and power struggles between the US and China. According to U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, China poses “the greatest challenge of our age,” in terms of global governance and prosperity.
With China’s economy on the upswing and tensions between Washington and Beijing escalating, it seems that the US may be outpaced in the race for economic influence. The implications of a world in which China stands toe to toe with the US are far-reaching, and the consequences remain to be seen. But for now, it’s clear that the US must prepare to face an increasingly formidable adversary in the global arena.
Opportunities Abound Amid China’s Resurgence
Despite the growing rift between the US and China and the rising threat of inflation, analysts say the reemergence of the Chinese economy could present a golden opportunity. As Napoleon Hill famously said, “Within every adversity is an equal or greater benefit. Within every problem is an opportunity.”
Though the Chinese economy is still subject to a great deal of uncertainty, some analysts are optimistic that the resurgence of the Chinese economic engine could send commodity prices higher—among them, precious metals. Gold prices surged to a two-year high in May, breaching the $2,000 per ounce threshold for the first time since August 2020. Silver, too, saw a jump in prices, with its gains outpacing gold’s during the first quarter of the year. As China’s economy continues to strengthen, industry experts are eyeing a further uptick in the prices for these commodities, which could present a lucrative opportunity for investors.
Though geopolitical tensions remain high, the revival of the Chinese economy suggests that opportunities abound for those seeking to take advantage of the current environment. As the country continues to rise from its pandemic slump, precious metals may be one of the few bright spots in an otherwise gloomy economic landscape.


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New report warns of increasing risk from social networks
According to internet security company Sophos, social networking sites have seen a dramatic increase in spam and fishing attacks over the last year. The Sophos Security Threat Report 2010 (view the PDF at tinyurl.com/4r7ku9f), warns that social networking scams have drastically increased in the last 12 months and pose a threat to consumer and business users alike.The report highlights the common methods used by social network scammers to trick unsuspecting users into compromising their security, including ‘clickjacking’, survey scams and ‘likejacking’ (a variation of clickjacking using Facebook’s ‘like’ functionality).The report revealed that, in 2010, 67% of those surveyed had received spam emails (up from just 33% in 2009), 43% of users had spotted what they believed to be phishing attempts, and 40% of respondents said they had received malware. And the headaches continue for businesses: 57% of businesses surveyed reported that they felt employees may be sharing too much information online; however the paper also indicated that this concern was not reflected in corporate policies. More than half of the companies surveyed imposed no limitations on accessing Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, and less than 25% of firms surveyed completely block these sites. Other threats highlighted in the report include fake anti-virus software, abuse of search engine optimisation techniques (ie: luring victims to malicious websites using corrupt search results), spam and the Stuxnet worm (a piece of highly targeted malware).


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A popular video marketing software company, Animaker, has recently experienced a data leak, which has exposed the personal information of millions of its users. Animaker is an online video creation platform that allows users to create animated videos, explainer videos, and other content, using pre-built templates and tools. The data leak was discovered by security researcher Anurag Sen who found a publicly accessible storage bucket that contained over 700,000 user records totaling up to around 5.3 GB of data. The data included full names, device type, postal codes, IP addresses, mobile numbers, email addresses, Animaker profile details, and geographical information including country, city, and state. According to Sen, the leak allowed anyone with the bucket’s URL to access the data without any authentication. The situation has been reported to Animaker, but no response has been made at this time. No passwords or payment details were included in the leak, but the amount of information included in the bucket continues to increase over time. The company also stated that it has implemented additional security measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
12 Essentials for a Successful SOC Partnership
As cyber threats continue to impact businesses of all sizes, the need for round-the-clock security


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South Korea’s economy may be difficult, but the country’s spa and salon market is proving resilient as holistic trends take hold
Like its neighbour Japan, South Korea has a tradition of using public baths and spas, notably their 24-hour jimjilbangs, with hot and cold soaking pools, bathing and massage areas, saunas, entertainment lounges and communal sleeping.
As a result, the country’s spa and beauty salon sectors seem to be largely unaffected by the drastic decline in Chinese tourist arrivals amid retaliatory measures by Beijing over Seoul last year allowing US forces to deploy THAAD defence missiles on South Korean soil.
The sector’s resilience is reflected in businesses’ expressions of optimism, rather than hard data, owing to the fact that surveys by industry associations are only conducted infrequently. According to the Korean Beauty Wellness Association (KBWA), the country’s beauty services sector consisted of ...
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8 results for "COLLEEN BARRY"
The European auto industry may be showing the first signs of a slowdown in its sales free-fall, according to data from the European automaker's association.
Silvio Berlusconi's private disco featured not only aspiring showgirls performing striptease acts as sexy nuns and nurses, but one woman dressed up as President Barack Obama and a prominent Milan prosecutor whom the billionaire media mogul h...
Global sales of luxury goods are off to a slow start in 2013 and aren't expected to match the double-digit growth of the last three years, consultancy Bain & Co. said in a study released Thursday.
Milan prosecutors on Monday demanded a prison sentence of six years and a lifetime ban from public office for former Premier Silvio Berlusconi in his sex-for-hire trial.
Ottavio Missoni, the patriarch of the iconic fashion brand of zigzag-patterned knitwear that helped launch Italian ready-to-wear and turn Milan into a fashion mecca, died Thursday just months after his eldest son disappeared without a trace. He ...
Ottavio Missoni, the patriarch of the iconic fashion brand of zigzag-patterned knitwear that has added a classy touch of color and style to countless well-dressed women, died Thursday in northern Italy. He was 92.
Former Premier Silvio Berlusconi's tax fraud conviction and four-year prison sentence were upheld on the first appeal Wednesday in a case that could see him barred from public office for five years.
Ferrari will limit sales of its high-performance street cars this year to protect the brand's aura of exclusivity, Chairman Luca Montezemolo said Wednesday.


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I wrote about the very first Kmart closing in Company Man and WXYZ on KMart, a tale of the retail apocalypse more than a year ago. Today, it's time to announce that Kmart is leaving its metro Detroit birthplace for good. Watch End of an era: Kmart closing last two Metro Detroit stores from WXYZ.
Kmart is part of Americana, and part of Metro Detroit. The last two stores [in Metro Detroit] closing are like losing a member of the family.The Detroit Free Press has more in Kmart to close 2 remaining metro Detroit stores.
Two of the three remaining Kmart stores in the state, located in Warren and Waterford, will close their doors, the company announced Thursday.Sears and KMart may have avoided liquidation, but stores continue to close as the Retail Apocalypse rolls on.
The two metro Detroit closures are part of larger list of 96 Kmart and Sears stores that will shut down nationwide. The cuts are an attempt for the company, also known as Transformco, to keep the two retailers afloat since acquiring assets of Sears Holdings in February...
Kmart previously announced in September plans to shutter nearly 100 stores in December or earlier, including eight in Michigan: Belleville, Clio, Grayling, Hastings, Menominee, Midland, Oscoda and Marine City.
In addition, a Sears in Lansing is set to close at that time.
The closures leave one remaining Kmart store in Michigan, in Marshall located at 15861 Michigan Ave.


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The ACA NeoGeo series has been bringing various classic titles to the Nintendo Switcch eShop, and it’s been revealed that the latest one of none other than Garou: Mark of the Wolves on May 11.
For those of you who aren’t in the know, Garou: Mark of the Wolves was originally made for the Neo Geo system as part of the Fatal Fury series. It’s actually the eighth installment of the Fatal Fury series.
The game features popular characters in Rock Howard, Terry Bogard, and even has Kim Kaphwan’s two sons in Kim Dong-Hwan and Kim Jae-Hoon in the mix.
Garou: Mark of the Wolves will release on May 11 for Nintendo Switch via the eShop for the price of $6.99/£6.29.


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Samsung Electronics announced a new safer way to buy apps by enabling users a choice to pay for the app through postpaid phone bill or prepaid balance on SamsungApps.com, their Mobile and TV applications portal.
This new payment option for Postpaid and Prepaid mobile users is an essentially practical solution provides secured method to those are skeptical in revealing sensitive credit card information.
It is even more interesting for those who do not own a credit card or cyber cash accounts.
This also means that the Postpaid users can buy apps now and pay later while they enjoy a credit period of up to that particular billing cycle. So, if someone purchase an app on 1st day on new billing cycle, he/she can pay for the app when mobile bill is due for payment.
New payment options are launched in 11 countries to begin with includes, India, Finland, Norway, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Ukraine, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia,
Samsung Apps portal is serving about 15K apps in 120 countries worldwide with 100 million downloads by March 2011.
Since it launched in June 2010, Samsung Apps has offered various billing options including credit card, prepaid cards and cyber cash – and the addition of these new methods provides further convenience and ease of payment, meaning that customers no longer have to enter sensitive information such as credit card details if they wish.
This is an innovative and practical new step to make App purchases a smoother process and to bring App stores closer to users. Here is a link to Samsung Apps Website
Do share your views.!


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A boy aged 15 was stabbed to death last night while cycling with friends in north London.
Apple's iPhone has beaten analysts expectations with a jump in sales, but the surprise performance couldn't mask a fall in profits and a drop in sales of iPad and Mac computers.
24 July 2013
Apple has reportedly signed up Samsung to supply chips for its new iPhone, in an apparent reversal of relations between the two rivals.
15 July 2013
More and more people owning smartphones and cheaper competition from China means Samsung’s new Galaxy phone is struggling.
05 July 2013
Samsung is snapping up a bargain in Israeli, buying set-top box maker and media streaming firm Boxee.
04 July 2013
Apple sparked a revolution in 2007 by putting a computer in people’s pockets and the technology firm may now be poised to put one on people’s wrists.
02 July 2013
07 June 2013
Samsung’s new Galaxy S4 smartphone has become its fastest-selling phone ever, shifting at a rate of one every four seconds since its launch in late April.
23 May 2013
Nokia has launched a lighter, thinner smartphone with its most advanced camera yet in its battle with Samsung and Apple.
14 May 2013
Samsung has extended its lead over Apple as the biggest smartphone manufacturer in the first three months of this year, and Google’s Android operating system has increased its dominance with a 75% global market share.
14 May 2013
News in brief: Pressure grows for eurozone rate cut, City woes damage recruiter’s profits, Asian piglets keep Genus on track
Pressure on the European Central Bank to slash interest rates mounted today as unemployment across the 17-member currency bloc hit a record 19.2 million or 12.1% in March.
30 April 2013
- Moment man's phone is snatched from his hand in a split second as he walked in City
- WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Prince Harry to quit the Army later this year
- White and gold or blue and black? What colour is the dress?
- Unveiled: New RED Boris bikes (but you'll have to call them Santander Cycles instead)
- ‘Cyclist friendly’ trucks unveiled to cut deaths on capital’s roads
- Blow for David Cameron as net migration rises 53,000 in five years to 300,000
- Top transplant surgeon sacked 'for delaying NHS operation to treat private patient first'
- 'Hackney heroine' selected by Lib Dems to stand for Parliament in safe Tory seat
- 'Owl-themed cocktail bar' to open in Soho
- London flooding: River Thames bursts banks swamping waterfronts across capital
- Secret train fare bargains website struggles to cope with demand after word gets out
- Police appeal to trace man caught performing sex act on train
- West Ham fans shoot parody video showing black man being let on to train in wake of Chelsea racism storm


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A new device promises to keep your private conversations private, no matter where you are.
It's called HushMe and goes right over your mouth.
The mouthpiece contains a microphone that connects to your phone so you can stop worrying about being overheard and start worrying about looking like Bane.
HushMe's will retail for $249 once they are released later this year, but it can be yours now for the low early bird price of $149. Learn more here.


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HTC has confirmed that it won't bring Android 2.3, otherwise known as Gingerbread, to the Desire, one of its most popular and enduring handsets of 2010.
The company made the announcement (opens in new tab) on its Facebook page and said that the decision was down to the fact that the smartphone doesn't have enough memory to support both Gingerbread and HTC's proprietary Sense user interface.
It said that its engineering teams had been working hard for the past few months in order to get Gingerbread on the HTC Desire without "compromising [on]" the Sense experience.
Some have been suggesting that HTC should give up on Sense instead and allow its customers to upgrade to a bland version of Gingerbread which will apparently be available for the original Google Nexus S, the HTC Desire's twin brother.
Others have commented that HTC may be planning obsolescence for the original Desire, something that may be true as HTC wants to push better products (like the HTC Desire S and the Sensation) and the Desire alongside the Desire HD might be standing in the path of natural selection.
Others have also pointed out that Gingerbread runs perfectly on the Desire with Sense UI using a custom ROM. In addition, the HTC Wildfire S, we've noted, comes with 512MB memory and a slower SoC but yet somehow managed to run Gingerbread and Sense perfectly well.


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Xbox appears to be teasing something Game of Thrones related on its Twitter account. With E3 just a month away, it's hard to not believe this cryptic Game of Thrones tweet isn't related to some impending announcement.
Yesterday, the official Xbox Twitter account tweeted a GIF of what looks to be armor from House Targaryen in fire. While the full image is cropped, you can see the unmistakable sigil of the dragon just peaking out from the top.
Xbox tweeted the image along with the message, "And now your wait begins. Stay tuned." While the tweet was sent out an hour before the new episode of Game of Thrones premiered on HBO that Sunday, this tweet doesn't seem to be a reference to the TV show.
So what could it be? There's currently a rumor that George R. R. Martin, author of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels from which the HBO series is based on, is working with Dark Souls developer FromSoftware on a project. But those remain rumors, and it'd be strange to tease a FromSoftware collaboration with an image from Game of Thrones just because of Martin's involvement.
A Game of Thrones project is more likely, based on this specific teaser. And while there have been games based on Game of Thrones in the past, none of have had as overwhelming critical acclaim as the novels and TV series.
Or it could be another Xbox One X limited edition console as some commenters are theorizing. Xbox is known to collaborate with movies, TV shows, and brands on limited-edition consoles. So, it could just be one of those in celebration for Game of Thrones' final season. Either way, I'm sure we'll find out soon what this teaser is for.


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A tactical decision made by the CAW during contract bargaining this year is about to come back to haunt the union in the form of thousands of more lost jobs, industry analyst Tony Faria predicts.
With the North American automotive sales tanking in conjunction with the plunge in stock markets, the Detroit-based carmakers are going to have to cut production further -- and they’ll start with their highest-cost plants in Canada, Faria predicts.
The jobs losses will hit assemblers and salaried managers, Canadian parts-makers and their employees, and the communities in which they work, he told local business executives Thursday.
The high-cost wage and benefit structure in the Canadian plants run by the Detroit three -- their Canadian-built cars cost about $900 more to than those built in the U.S., and $1,000 more than the cars built here by Honda and Toyota -- is going to work against those companies keeping production in this country, Faria said.
“We’re probably going to lose jobs in Canada,” said Faria, a professor of business and co-director of the Office of Automotive Research at the University of Windsor. “We will probably lose more CAW employment in Canada,” he told a crowd of about 60 people at a breakfast lecture sponsored by the Odette School of Business.
“We will see production move to the U.S. and Mexico.”
Faria said the plant closures already announced this year by General Motors, Ford and Chrysler won’t be enough to keep the companies solvent as sales plunge farther into the basement. September was the worst sales month in 15 years for the Detroit carmakers, and October is shaping up to be even worse, thanks to plunging stock markets that are leaving U.S. consumers poorer and a credit crisis that has left them unable to borrow to buy new cars and trucks.
Industry-wide North American sales in 2009 could be even worse before a recovery starts sometime in 2010, Faria said. “The end of the year has just nosedived. It’s hard to figure where this is going to bottom out for the Detroit companies.”
From a peak of 20 million units per year in 2000, North American sales are currently running at about 12 million units, and could slide even farther, he said, “although that’s hard to imagine.”
But more plant closures are coming and several Canadian plants are in the crosshairs, Faria said, including Ford’s St. Thomas assembly operation and Chrysler’s Brampton Assembly Plant. “We may lose a lot of Ford production.” St. Thomas, which builds police cars and limousines on a 30-year-old vehicle platform, is almost certain to close, Faria said, “and we could see Brampton going.”
On the U.S. side of the border, plunging auto sales mean that many of the two dozen new product commitments made by GM and Ford to the UAW in 2007 in return for the U.S. union agreeing to historic wage and benefit concessions will probably not be met.
Those commitments, made on a plant-by-plant basis to secure tens of thousands of American jobs, were seen as a terrible blow to the CAW, whose plants were shut out of the work. Now, it appears those pledges “are not all going to happen, which is going to be a real bummer for the UAW to be sure. The market has turned down so sharply they simply can’t afford to meet these promises and they simply won’t need the production.”
The CAW will experience even worse problems due to the strategy retired union president Buzz Hargrove took into the Canadian contract talks early this year, Faria predicts.
Due to the contract agreed to by UAW president Ron Gettelfinger, the “all-in” wage, benefit and pension costs of U.S. assemblers has started to drop, from a high of $75.86 per hour in 2007 to an average of about $51 per hour starting in 2010, Faria calculates. The cost of assembly labour in the Big Three’s Canadian plants, meanwhile, was about $77 in 2007 and will rise to over $80 per hour by the end of the new contract.
That difference will cost the CAW more jobs, Faria predicts.
Gettelfinger went into negotiations “with the right intention,” Faria says: “Save jobs. The CAW strategy was to squeeze every dime out of them.” While Hargrove’s last contract won’t be the sole reason the jobs are going to disappear -- currency issues are also a major problem for the Canadian auto industry, causing even Toyota to scale back its production plans here -- “that CAW contract was the last nail in the coffin” for the jobs that will be lost.
“Buzz thinks he retired with the legacy that he never gave anything back,” Faria said after the breakfast lecture. “But he gave up a lot of jobs. He gave away jobs like there was no tomorrow.”
Reached in the Toronto area on Thursday, Hargrove agreed with Faria’s prediction that the UAW would lose it product commitments, but said it was “too simplistic” to predict that Canadian job losses due to the current contract.
“I’d be glad to debate Tony on this, any place, any time,” Hargrove said. “Not one company has blamed our contract for anything.”
Hargrove said the closure this week of Sterling truck plants in Ontario and Oregon, for instance, had nothing to do with a CAW contract.
“Clearly, I have a severe philosophical difference with Buzz Hargrove,” Faria said. “His philosophy has always been get everything you can for the worker. I can appreciate a labour leader looking after his members. But you have to look at jobs, too.” firstname.lastname@example.org
or 519-255-5777, ext. 645
Auto industry forecast
CSM Worldwide, the auto industry forecaster based in Lansing, Mich., predicts that GM’s Canadian production will fall by more than half by 2014, to 360,235 units from 786,098 in 2007, while its Mexican production will double to nearly one million units.
CSM says Ford’s Canadian production is expected to drop to 191,596 by 2014, from 349,808 last year, while its Mexican production will rise by about 40,000 units. Chrysler’s Canadian production is projected to drop to 437,965 units in 2014, from 534,774 last year.
Meanwhile, CSM says Canadian production of Toyota is expected to more than double by 2014, when it is projected to reach 647,119, up from 302,749 last year. Honda’s massive Canadian complex in Alliston is expected to reach 443,343 units in 2014, up from 390,580 units in 2007.
© (c) CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc.


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The Tobacco Industry’s hypocrisy on illicit trade
Since the temporary ban on the sale of tobacco and alcohol products in South Africa, the Tobacco industry has used the illicit tobacco trade argument to rally against the government’s ban. This article denotes this as one of the deceitful tactics the industry uses as it lusts for profits at the cost of health.
As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, South Africa put in place a lockdown that included a temporary ban on the sale of cigarettes and alcohol products. This measure received a lot of criticism from large companies such as British American Tobacco South Africa (BATSA), Philip Morris South Africa (PMSA) and Japan Tobacco International (JTI) who argued that the ban would drive illicit trade and urged the government to reverse the ban while presenting legal actions against it.
The South African government is working to defend the ban against the industry’s legal challenges. Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma in response argued about the importance of the ban showing that the illicit problem has long existed. The tobacco industry continues to focus on its primary goal to sell its deadly products rather than protect the health of its consumers.
See the original article by Allen Gallagher, Mateusz Zatonski, Tom Hird, and Lekan Ayo-Yusuf in The Daily Maverick here.


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NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Sept. 27, 2021 – JLL Capital Markets announced today that it has closed the $37.5 million sale of and arranged acquisition financing for Marketplace Beaumont, a 187,851-square-foot shopping center anchored by ALDI, Ross, Best Buy, Petco and Bed Bath & Beyond in the Inland Empire community of Beaumont, California.
JLL worked with Brixton Capital to source the transaction and structure the existing financing. The seller was a private family trust who originally developed the center.
Completed in 2008, the 91-percent-leased Marketplace Beaumont is anchored by ALDI and is home to major national tenants, including Ross Dress for Less, Petco, Bed Beth & Beyond and Best Buy. The center comprises eight buildings that include five drive-thru pads occupied by Starbucks, Taco Bell and more.
Marketplace Beaumont has been a strong performer through the pandemic. It is situated on 51.77 acres at 1604, 1693 and 1642 E. Second St. in Beaumont, a Riverside County community east of Los Angeles that is one of the fastest-growing submarkets in Southern California. More than 13,800 new homes have been added since 2018, and there are nearly 24,000 planned or under construction. More than 80,300 residents earning an average annual household income of $82,236 live within a three-mile radius of the property.
The JLL Retail Capital Markets team representing the buyer was led by Managing Director Gleb Lvovich and Director Daniel Tyner.
“Marketplace Beaumont is the dominant center in the rapidly growing area of Beaumont,” Tyner said. “The acquisition was attractive due to its strong performance and quality national tenant roster.”
“Big-box retail, along with the shops and pads surrounding it, has performed well through the pandemic, and we are seeing strong demand from both tenants to lease space and investors to enjoy the strong relative yields available in the space,” Lvovich added.
The JLL Debt Advisory team representing the seller was led by Senior Managing Director Aldon Cole and Managing Director Pat Burger.
“Sponsorship benefitted from running a competitive process, which ultimately procured very accretive financing for the project,” Burger said. “The depth of capital pursuing the acquisition demonstrates the appetite available for quality retail assets.”
JLL Capital Markets is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. The firm’s in-depth local market and global investor knowledge delivers the best-in-class solutions for clients — whether investment sales and advisory, debt advisory, equity advisory or a recapitalization. The firm has more than 3,000 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.


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“Like Watching A Trainwreck”: NJ Meadowlands Mega-Mall Drowning In $3 Billion In Debt
The monstrosity of a quintessential New Jersey landmark – the American Dream mall located at the Meadowlands – is in dire financial straits.
The megamall, which we have written about numerous times in the past, saw its opening delayed more than once and suffered from the extremely unfortunate timing of the pandemic.
Now, owners the Ghermezian family are having trouble preventing the mall from “hemmoraging cash”, according to Bloomberg.
In fact, the family has already hired advisors to help restructure the project’s $3 billion in debt and also help operating the project.
Lenders for the project, including J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs and Soros Fund Management, also stand to face losses on about $1.7 billion in construction loans if the mall’s sorry financial condition doesn’t turn around.
The project is also carrying about $1.1 billion in municipal debt.
Neil Shapiro, a New York real estate attorney, said of the project: “It’s been like watching a train wreck that goes on forever. There aren’t a lot of projects that lose at least $3 billion that we’re still talking about as projects.”
While the mall is set to see luxury names like Tiffany & Co. and Hermes open shops on the premises in September, it may be a case of “too little, too late” for the project. The Ghermezian family has already hired adviser Houlihan Lokey Inc. and the law firm of Weil Gotshal & Manges to help them with restructuring.
The mall did just $139 million in sales in the first two quarters of 2021, despite the post-Covid re-opening. It was previously predicted, in 2017, that the mall would do $2 billion top line in its first year.
The Ghermezian family had already pledged equity in two other malls, the Mall of America and the West Edmonton Mall, as collateral for their stake in the American Dream mall. The company’s $548 million equity stake in the American Dream mall may now be at risk.
Anjee Solanki, director of retail sales for Colliers, thinks the family will get a chance to right the ship in a restructuring scenario, due to their expertise in running malls: “There’s going to be at least one shot at letting the Ghermezians work it out.”
The complex is about 3 million square feet and sits on about 90 acres. It charges about $115 for day passes to its water park and about $80 for day passes to its indoor ski slope (every mall needs one). You can read Bloomberg’s full report here.
Fri, 08/20/2021 – 13:20
Jump To The Original Source


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One of Georgia’s longest-lasting contributions to the world has been the lucrative liquid of quality wine. From humble table wine to prized bottles from over a decade ago, there are over 500 grape varieties. The country truly has a bottle for everyone. Even a visit to some of the nation’s villages will show that many families still use the ancient methods for their own creations.
However, making the traditional qvevri is a time-consuming and often expensive affair, a fact excessively burdensome for people making wine commercially in large batches. This is where David Mizandari and the Qvevry Research Company come in. His stated goal is: “Protecting cultural heritage with modern technologies and passing it on to the new generation.”
David notes the current market of qvevri manufacturing as incorrect, going against the true traditions of Georgian winemaking. He notes that virtually all of the qvevri in the country are lined with beeswax, which takes away the natural properties of the clay. “The wine doesn’t come into contact with the clay at all, and here the main function of the qvevri is lost,” David tells GEORGIA TODAY, adding that they are also often coated on the outside with cement to reinforce their strength when buried.
“Unfortunately, such qvevris have become standard today,” he laments. Because of these poor construction techniques, many winemaking companies either break away from using the traditional methods, or import qvevris from abroad. “In today’s qvevri making, the complete cycle, from clay preparation to firing, is broken,” David states, adding that half of the qvevri used end up leaking or cracking, destroying the wine and incurring immense repair costs for the winemakers.
But David believes the ancient traditions are not all lost. He has built a 3D printing system specifically for making the prized qvevri. “This new machine combines both a 3D printing mechanism and special tools for creating qvevri, which builds a qvevri with natural Georgian clay, exactly as it was made centuries ago by our ancestors.” These versions, he says, have the precise thickness and porosity so as to avoid the unnecessary beeswax and cement.
“The process is standardized,” he explains, “we use well-processed Georgian clay.” The process, using his one-of-a-kind machine, can create a 1 ton qvevri in only eight hours. By contrast, the current hand-making method can take up to four months to create a similar product, and will still require the aforementioned treatments.
David explains that the research for his creation began in the National Archives of Georgia. “We searched for manuscripts and books about how qvevris were made by our ancestors,” he says, noting that GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit), a German government development agency, had a study on Georgian clay. “As a result of the analysis and reconciliation of these many materials, we conducted tests on Georgian clay mixtures for one year, including the refinement of the clay-firing process, which is one of the most difficult components in qvevri production.”
“During the research phase, we needed to find a lot of information, and meetings were held with leading ceramicists as well as microbiologists and winemakers.”
The work paid off, he says, and “the grapes were fermented in our qvevri by a bio-winemaker and the results were the best and most unique, never seen before.” The rest was left up to David and his team. In the end, the final product outperformed the clay-beeswax-cement method. “The wall of the qvevri made of such clay is porous, the wine does not leak into it, it is strong and does not need to be waxed from the inside or cemented from the outside.”
“In our qvevri,” David proudly explains, “the wine has direct contact with the porous surface of the wall, from which micro- and nano-air bubbles are supplied to the grape juice, which supports the fermentation/micro-oxidation process for months, which is the direct purpose of the qvevri.” He states firmly that “in a properly made qvevri, wine ‘lives’ for months and years, and continues aging naturally.”
David says his company, Qvevry, will be entering the market this year with the aim of revolutionizing the winemaking sector and bringing it back to its ancient roots.
“We already have a long waiting list, and we are also being contacted by winemakers from abroad,” he says, explaining that his export qvevri will only be made of pure Georgia clay. “With such a method, it will be possible to preserve cultural heritage, ensure its sustainability for the next hundreds of years, and pass it on to new generations.”
His methods have already won him and his team Georgian Innovation and Technology Agency grants.
David’s innovative and sustainable method of preserving the traditional ways of qvevri production and winemaking as a whole seems to have already developed a community of dedicated clientele. Small and large wineries across the country have convinced professional winemakers that this combination of tradition and modern technology is the answer they’ve been waiting for. Despite a history stretching back to 6,000 BC, and centuries of perfection, a new chapter in Georgian winemaking may be drawing upon the country.
Interview by Michael Godwin


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Business News›daily shipments
FedEx shares pop on hefty profit beat, UPS customer wins
Operating income in FedEx's Ground division jumped 59% for the quarter ended Aug. 31. That unit benefited from UPS customers shifting packages to alternate carriers ahead of the Aug. 1 expiration of its contract covering about 340,000 United Brotherhood of Teamsters-represented workers.
South Korea’s early exports slump, hitting global rebound hopes
South Korea's shipments have been plunging since last year-end as prices of semiconductors fall as well as the demand from China.
Ecommerce not clicking as it did post pandemic; Namma Yatri daily rides in fast lane
After a pandemic-fuelled surge in online shopping, the industry is seeing moderate growth over the past few months. We have a detailed story on the state of play in the e-commerce market. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
Chipmakers see ‘breathtaking’ drop in demand as recession looms
Samsung -- the world’s largest memory chip maker -- reported a 32% dive in operating income, while PC-processor chipmaker AMD said it will miss its earlier forecast by about $1 billion.
Taiwan turmoil prompts detours, delays for global shipping
Shipping companies are assessing their options after China’s response to the visit of the highest-ranking US official to the island in 25 years. The actions threaten to disrupt one of the world’s busiest waterways.
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Only one day of petrol stock left; daily power cuts may last 15 hours, says PM Ranil WickremesingheSri Lanka is in the throes of its worst-ever economic crisis with its 22 million people enduring severe hardships to secure food, fuel and medicines while facing record inflation and lengthy power blackouts.
Lockdowns in China block truck shipments and close factoriesMany factories have tried to stay open by having workers stay on site instead of going home.
COVID-19: First shipment from Ukraine carrying 184 oxygen concentrators arrives in IndiaIndia has received medical help and assistance from the US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, in the form of oxygen concentrators, ventilators, raw materials for vaccines, PPE kits.
Bangladesh temporarily halts new registration for Covid vaccination due to delay in shipments from IndiaBangladesh is a prime recipient of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines produced by India's Serum Institute, but the alarming surge in the positive cases in India has created uncertainty over its expected availability in Bangladesh in due time.
Saudi ceasefire plan unlikely to pause Yemen war: AnalystsThe ceasefire offer, the second since last year, marks what analysts call a public exercise by the kingdom to portray the Iran-backed insurgents as aggressors while it seeks a way out of the military quagmire in Yemen.
A year on from lockdown, India reports worst daily rise in COVID-19 in monthsTotal deaths have now swelled to 159,967 and infections to 11.65 million, the highest in the world after the United States and Brazil.
India's Serum Institute to delay further vaccine shipments to Brazil, Morocco, Saudi: SourceThe news comes as India, the world's biggest vaccine maker, is being criticised domestically for donating or selling more doses than inoculations conducted at home, despite reporting the most number of coronavirus infections after the United States and Brazil.
Singapore approves Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, first shipment expected by end-December: PMLee, in a televised address on Singapore's COVID-19 situation, said the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine after studying the scientific evidence and clinical trial data.
U.S. vaccine campaign launches with first shipments 'delivering hope' to millionsThe coronavirus vaccine, developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, gained emergency-use approval from federal regulators late on Friday, clearing the way for distribution to begin a mere 11 months after the United States documented its first COVID-19 infections.
E-commerce companies to create 3 lakh jobs this festive season: RedSeerMost of the hiring by e-commerce platforms ahead of festive season is temporary and done ahead of time to prepare for surge in orders during the various sale periods.
Shipments of Indian goods via Bangladesh to Northeast soonIn the first trial, India will carry goods to Tripura and adjoining states via Bangladesh’s Akhaura and Bibirbazar land ports after they arrive at the Chittagong port, they said. Such an arrangement would help India ship goods to and from its north-eastern region by waterways and then by road through Bangladesh. Dhaka is expected to benefit from fees charged on the movements of cargo.
COVID-19 pandemic becoming child rights crisis as 6,000 children could die daily: UNICEFThe UN's children agency has warned that an additional 6,000 children could die daily from preventable causes over the next six months as the COVID-19 pandemic weakens the health systems and disrupts routine services.
Lockdown, Day 39: India's highest daily jumpMeanwhile, the DGCA has grounded domestic and international flights till the end of the lockdown.
It’s another dull year for cardamomA surge in prices after a twomonth gap has put an end to a revival in shipments.
Cardamom prices remain robust due to high demandCardamom prices have plunged 35 per cent in one month as harvest of new crop begins.
APM Terminals to shut station at Nava Sheva after violenceThe facility will be shut down Thursday night, said Ajit Venkataraman, managing director for inland services south Asia, where APM’s CFS business is housed.
Analysts cut iPhone X shipment forecasts, citing lukewarm demandAnalysts have lowered iPhone X shipment projections for Q1 of next year, citing signs of lackluster demand at the end of the holiday shopping season.
Cycling-Team Sky confident UKAD will find no wrongdoingCYCLING-SKY/:Cycling-Team Sky confident UKAD will find no wrongdoing
Our daily transacting users exceed Flipkart, Amazon put together: SnapdealThe co, claims to have grown 1.9x in shipment volumes in just the last 1 year and has set a target of achieving 20 mn daily transacting users by 2020.
Amazon pips Snapdeal to become India's 2nd largest online marketplace after FlipkartIf there is no new entry, it will be a two-horse race (between Flipkart and Amazon) by the end of the year,” said Satish Meena, a senior analyst.
Not anticipating long term impact on shipment through Pakistan: US"(We) hopefully don't anticipate that there'll be any long term impacts to our retrograde movements because of the current situation,"Marie Harf said.
Currency volatility in India brings down PC shipments in APAC"Worldwide PC shipments totalled 80.3 million units in the third quarter of 2013, an 8.6 per cent decline from the same period last year."Load More
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Last holiday season, the La Jolla Group, a California retailer and apparel licensing firm that manages surfing brands O’Neill and Rusty, and motocross brand Metal Mulisha, plunged into big data in a big way.
Too big, it turned out. La Jolla ran a lot of online sweepstakes to capture social graph data about its online customers. “We over-engineered it,” says Daniel Neukomm, who handles corporate strategy and development for the company. “We were never able to fully digest and respond to that data. That speaks to the theory that Big Data is only as good as your ability to use it.”
As the crucial holiday selling season ramps up this year, the La Jolla Group is less concerned with the sheer volume of data it collects than in integrating that data with other channels, such as email and mobile. “We are focusing on things we know work—and not trying to be overly flashy and overly technical,” Neukomm says. “We are taking a step back so we can go two or three steps further. We want to be surgical and sniper-focused, rather than shoot from the hip.”
In a time of “Big Data” hype, such sentiments are not commonly espoused—but they are smart. Many retailers are in a period of digesting the concepts of analyzing large and different datasets to gain new insights about customers and markets.
While 80 percent of retailers say they’ve heard of “Big Data,” less than half understand how to apply it to their business, according to a recent survey by retail research firm Edgell Knowledge Network.
Companies that are leading the charge, like the La Jolla Group, are focusing on social media efforts that can have a tangible impact—especially during the crucial holiday selling season, which can mean the difference between a year in the black and the red. Neukomm points to the La Jolla Group’s use of ReadyPulse‘s Social Testimonial platform, a beta stage behavioral analysis provider that curates online testimonials. The technology brings enthusiastic comments from Facebook and Twitter to the appropriate place on the company’s web site.
“That lifts the page relevance without us spending any more,” he says. “The traffic on the page is more relevant to the viewer, and the [user’s] stay on the page is longer and conversion is higher. This is especially important during the holidays, because those eyeballs are worth more.”
Targeting Time-Strapped Consumers
That perspective dovetails with IBM Enterprise Marketing Management’s 5th Annual Online Retail Holiday Readiness Report, which was released in August. The yearly report notes that mobile usage by consumers is exacerbating the trend of “surgical shopping,” where time pressed consumers are zeroing in on the products and services they want. The declining consumer attention, the report notes, is a clarion call for retailers to make site visits relevant, personalized and engaging to the individual consumer—a sweet spot for big data.
“This year, social media playing in the analytics mix that marketers are much more attuned to social sentiment for not just brands, also the campaigns and holiday promotions,” says Jay Henderson, IBM’s global strategy program director for enterprise marketing management. Henderson says he’s noticed that this holiday season retailers are analyzing their data more frequently. “They might look at an analytics report once quarter or once a month the rest of year,” he says. During the holidays, they now want real-time monitoring. This is a big change in that historically retailers locked down for that retail period. “Now they realize they need to be more agile,” he says.
For such reasons, online retailers, who are able to easily implement changes on the fly, have embraced analytics systems more quickly than their brick-and-mortar counterparts. Consider RetailNext, which produces a system for retailers and manufacturers that combines video analytics, on-shelf sensors, and data from point-of-sale systems. Retailers can find how long a consumer spends in front of a particular display and test ways to tweak layouts and products.
“This provides actionable information that allows retailers to test concepts quickly,” says Shelley E. Kohan, vice president of retail consulting of retail consulting at RetailNext. “They could test a concept on Saturday, and make a change on Monday.”
Using this information, a retailer could coax store traffic in ways that leads to a slight uptick in sales. Multiply that across 100 stores in a retail chain during the business holiday season, and the aggregate sales could be significant.
The Goal of an ‘Omnichannel Experience’
Kohan says that compared to online-only merchants, the brick-and-mortar retailers want to see a greater amount of data over time before they make in-store adjustments. “As they become more accustomed to analytics and Big Data, we anticipate their comfort level in making quick changes become higher,” she says. “Right now the mindset, especially with specialty retailers, is let’s make sure.”
That said, there is more movement to bring big data applications offline to the brick-and-mortar stores to forge a true “omnichannel experience” in retail parlance. This holiday season, the La Jolla Group, which also runs its own retail stores, is partnering with a new company called Swarm, which has developed a way to send targeted push notifications advertising custom deals and programs to shoppers’ smart phones without them ever downloading an app or even opening their browser. The system detects a customer’s wireless antennae when he walks in the store and prompts your browser to open up, giving him the option to explore the platform. “We are using that platform to capture walk-by traffic in a way we’ve never been able to do before,” Neukomm says.
During the holiday season, the La Jolla Group will use the system to tinker with in-store promotions, such as adding a gift with purchase to bump sales. Neukomm stresses the approach—like everything the company is doing with big data—will be highly targeted.
“The ultimate goal of any industry is to put the right product in front of the right customer at the right time,” he says. “Big data is an almost unavoidable competitive requirement in retail today. But we need to be nimble and play smartly. We need to pluck and choose the technology, and go beyond traditional vendor-retailer relationships. We are coming in on the ground level—there is no formula. We are the sandbox, the testing ground where we will refine and scale the technology.”
Joe Mullich, a freelance writer based in Los Angeles, can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Apple is purchasing Swell in a deal worth $30 million, according to unnamed sources. The app offers personalized streams of podcasts and talk radio programs. It has raised $7.2 million as a startup project but this valuation implies that the tool has a lot more to offer Apple as it overhauls its music services.
Re/code reported that Swell had a hard time attracting users despite its strong user interface. For those fans who discovered the tool, though, Swell has a high level of engagement and a great listening experience in cars. On the other hand, Apple’s in-house app for podcasts has abysmal ratings on the App Store, but is still one of the top Entertainment downloads in the U.S.
Purchasing Swell could combine the best of what both parties can do into a better experience for Apple’s listeners. The Beats acquisition is bringing in new talent on the music side, and although this is a smaller buy, Swell’s expertise could be an excellent counterpoint. Where Beats brings in creativity and industry connections, Swell has the technical track record to improve the podcast side of the streaming experience. Plus, the recent project in car connectivity from the Cupertino crew might mean extra applications for Swell’s know-how in creating vehicle-friendly UI.
The Swell founding team did not immediately reply to our request for comment.


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Searching for a rewarding career in NYC? There could be a position waiting for you at NYCEDC. ›
By fostering economic growth and developing programs that help businesses and entire business sectors achieve success, we strengthen the City. Our work helps create jobs and positions New York City for future growth while improving the quality of life. We make the City stronger.
NYC needs you to help reimagine the world’s largest digital health competition.
Pilot Health Tech NYC has awarded $2 million to health tech companies and hospitals to help them adopt technologies that improve New Yorkers’ health and save them money. Today, NYCEDC is calling for partners to help chart a new course for this successful program.
Pilot Health Tech NYC matches...Read More
By Lynne Guey and Richard Solomon, NYCEDC Marketing
The 87th Academy Awards take place this Sunday at 8:30 pm EST. While the red carpet rolls out at Hollywood's Dolby Theater, New York City has also played a significant role in the production of some of the night's leading contenders. Let's take a look.
The entertainment industry employs approximately 130,000 New Yorkers and contributes about $7.1 billion to the local economy annually. As a whole, the industry is on the rise: preliminary numbers from New York State Department of Labor’s...Read More
When it comes to fashion, NYC needs no introduction.
The city is synonymous with some of the world's biggest designers and brands. As we celebrate our fashion heritage and future during Fashion Week, it’s worth reflecting on the origins of an industry that today boasts a nearly $900 million economic impact.
Over 100 years ago, thousands of New Yorkers worked in garment factories in Manhattan. Their efforts moved a generation into the middle class, ushered in social...Read More
By Kat Lau and Matthew Weinberg, Center for Economic Transformation, Media and Emerging Tech Desk
As the nation’s fastest-growing tech hub, it is only fitting that New York City have a bold presence at the nation’s largest tech event.
This year, NYCEDC is partnering with New York Tech Meetup to coordinate the City’s official presence at SXSW, and we’d love for you to join us. If you’re going to SXSW, let us know so we can include you in our events and programming! Read on to see what we have planned so far,...Read More
This post is part of NYCEDC’s Thinking Ahead series, which features editorials from New York City leaders and influencers across key sectors and neighborhoods to foster dialogue around the issues impacting our city. Read more Thinking Ahead posts here.
The following was written by Jake Schwartz, CEO and co-founder of General Assembly, a global educational...Read More
Do you live in a FRESH neighborhood?
The FRESH program, which stands for Food Retail Expansion to Support Health, was created in 2009 to provide nutritious, affordable, fresh food options to underserved communities. Zoning and financial incentives are available to eligible grocery store operators and developers as a way to encourage neighborhood grocery stores to renovate existing retail space in communities needing more healthy food options.
Since launching, a total of 20 FRESH projects...Read More
By Lenzie Harcum, Biosciences and Health Tech Desk
Are you researching a cure for cancer, incubating a new application for clinical record keeping, or developing a diagnostic test for Alzheimer's?
Maybe you’re convinced that you’re working on a game-changing technology, all while you travel ever closer to the Valley of Death—that zone somewhere between the initial development of your innovative idea and proof that it has potential in the marketplace.
The rub is that you need capital to jump start your concept from the idea stage to something marketable. If there is high technical...Read More
Meet the Makers is NYCEDC’s podcast series that shares the stories of the next generation of manufacturers who live and work right here in NYC.
The 6,000 square...Read More
There is no shortage of food options in New York City.
With food as creative and diverse as pizza, bagels, sushi, empanadas, artisanal cheese, and all of the ethnic offerings in between, New York City is rightfully called the food capital of the world.
The business of food is booming throughout the five boroughs. Food service is how young entrepreneurs, immigrants and natives alike, connect their heritage with their city. Add local artisans, street vendors, and restaurateurs, major food manufacturers, and vast distribution networks to the mix, and we see how food is a vital...Read More
By Maureen Ballard, Project Manager, Economic Research and Analysis
New York City's food manufacturing industry has witnessed a strong resurgence since 2005.
After a rapid decline in the number of food manufacturing jobs and businesses in the late 90s and early 2000s, it seemed that food production was moving out of the city for good. However, since 2005, new businesses have seeded and employment has returned to levels comparable to those in 2000. Much of this growth can be attributed to small and medium-sized businesses of less than 20 employees. Food...Read More


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The BitGo custodial service sued investment firm Galaxy Digital in Delaware Chancellor’s Court for rejecting the planned merger, demanding $100 million in compensation.
Last May, Galaxy Digital announced plans to acquire the BitGo service for $1.2 billion. Given that the service supports the storage of more than 400 cryptocurrencies, the acquisition would have allowed Galaxy to significantly increase its customer list and expand geographically. However, in April, Galaxy management postponed the deal until late 2022 due to personnel changes as BitGo hired around 150 new employees. In mid-August, Galaxy backed out of the deal altogether. As the company explained, BitGo had not provided financial statements for 2021 by 31 July 2022, according to the terms of the agreement.
The BitGo service recently warned the company that it would claim $100 million in damages for wrongful breach of agreement. However, Galaxy said it would not pay compensation for pulling out of the deal. This could be because the company reported losses of $554 million in Q2 2022, a week before it pulled out of the deal to acquire the service. BitGo alleges that Galaxy deliberately breached the merger agreement, and the service has moved from cautions to sue.
According to attorney Brian Timmons of law firm Quinn Emanuel, which represents BitGo, the complaint was filed in secret, despite the lack of confidential information. This was done as a precaution in case Galaxy wished to redact any confidential information in the coming days. The company said the complaint would be available for review as early as Thursday.
Recall that several years ago, according to media reports, payment giant PayPal also held talks to buy BitGo’s custodial service, but they proved unsuccessful.
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By David Benoit and Shayndi Raice
Facebook’s insiders are planning to sell more shares, but opinions are mixed over whether even this will — or should — knock what has been a golden-plated IPO run-up.
From one perspective, the optics are bad when insiders decide to sell as the moms and pops look to put the savings they have for their 11-year olds into the stock. Coming soon after new questions about Facebook advertising, the increased insider sales could be worrying signal for retail investors.
“The basic question you have to ask is ‘Do you want to buy a company where all the insiders are heading for the door?’” said Tim Jenkinson, professor and head of the finance faculty at the Said Business School at the University of Oxford. “The logical inference here is these guys must think that the deal is going to be fully priced.”
But, as has been the case with every bump in Facebook’s road, there are plenty of Facebook defenders.